Spotify Releases Long-Awaited iPad App

While plenty of people are in love with Spotify’s all-you-can-stream desktop app, its mobile products have left many — including our own Jared Newman — wanting more. Today, Spotify filled a huge gap in its offerings by releasing a dedicated iPad app, available for free in the App Store.

Looks aren’t that important when using Spotify on your phone, mostly because you probably have it tucked into your pocket while listening to it. The iPad app is different; it’s all about becoming the centerpiece for your home stereo, which might explain the high-definition album art optimized for the Retina display.

Spotify also tries to make the iPad your primary music player by connecting wirelessly to AirPlay-enabled speakers or to Bluetooth devices — like, say, the new, appropriately named Big Jambox. Adjust the crossfade to your liking and pick the “Extreme” 320 kbps setting and you’ve got yourself the makings of a nice little house party.

Doug Aamoth / TIME.com

As far as the interface goes, Spotify has utilized the iPad’s 9.7-inch display in ways it couldn’t with the iPhone and Android apps. Scroll down a vertical list of all of the playlists you have made or subscribe to, click one and it opens a new pane on the right, letting you navigate your collection in one place.

A promotional video from Spotify shows how nice the app looks, especially the feature where you can change songs by swiping at the cover art. Unfortunately, as the photo above shows, the “What’s New” screen looks about as useless as it does for the desktop app.

While the download is free, you’ll need Spotify Premium to use the app. Those without a Premium subscription can try it free for 48 hours before signing up for a 30-day trial.